Reviewed by Debra Williams.
Anh Do is a prolific writer of
children’s books. This is the first book in a new series aimed at 7—to 10-year-old readers.
Niki (around 10) is having a wild week. She discovers that she is adopted. Then, whilst playing ‘tips’ with her school friends, she accidentally crashes into a bush where the school gardener is planting shrubs. A mysterious purple gem suddenly appears in the dirt, a gem with strange crystal flecks. The principal calls the museum, and a specialist team removes the gem.
Some of the kids think it’s
from outer space and could have special powers. The class teacher, Ms Bing, arranges
an excursion to the museum to see the gem. At the same time, Niki is attempting
to deal with a rat plague in her parent’s garden. She enlists the help of her
cat, Connor, who really isn’t interested to learn about catching rats.
Niki begins to experience some
kind of superpowers, abilities she hasn’t had before. On the day of the
excursion, Connor sneaks into her school bag and causes havoc at the museum. He
accidentally smashes the display case holding the gem and appears to become
ill. Then he goes missing.
The evil Dr. Kane appears,
attracting hundreds of rats to Niki’s school. He has discovered that there are
space gems on the grounds and wants the school to himself.
Niki’s abilities intensify and
she eventually realises that she is a Ninja, after a series of events, where
she tries to work out how to use her superpowers to save the town from the evil
Dr. Kane. Connor reappears, and is suddenly a talking Ninja cat sidekick, who
rescues Niki from the grasp of the evil doctor.
After Niki and her cat agree
to become a Ninja team, the story is left open for the next book, Ninja Girl 2.
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